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Did you know that a wire rope lanyard designed for fall arrest is not the same
as a wire rope sling that is designed for lifting?

When used as a fall arrest lanyard, wire rope by itself is unable to absorb any type of energy. Because there is no elasticity or stretch, this will subject a worker to a injury or even a potential amount of fatal arrest-force should they happen to fall while wearing it.

When wire rope is used as a connecting device, it is absolutely essential that a Personal Energy Absorber is used along with it. A PEA should actually be used with any lanyard or connecting device that allows for potential free fall, despite the fact that the webbing or rope of some lanyard types does actually absorb small amounts of energy.

Most jurisdictions, including Saskatchewan, prohibit fall
forces in excess of 8 kilonewtons. Therefore, employers are
legally required to ensure that a personal fall arrest system used by their
employees is set up in order to prevent arrest forces in excess of 1800 pounds.

The amount of force a human body can withstand has not
technically been verified by modern science. Less arrest force is generally easier on a person's body than more fall force. Additional information on this topic can be found here.

Wire rope slings should never be used as connecting devices in a Personal Fall Arrest System; it
will subject a falling worker to more fall force than a proper energy-absorbing lanyard would.

Northern Strands provides training on both the proper use of fall
arrest equipment and the proper use of rigging equipment. If you
would like more information one either of these programs, please contact us.

One of the most asked questions in Fall Arrest Training is, "Do my fall arrest harness straps need to be tight?". Yes, it is extremely important that your harness straps be tight and your harness fit properly. A degloving injury is one type of injury that can result from improper fitting of a fall arrest harness. Which is an extremely painful injury.

How do you know if your harness leg straps are fitted properly? One method is the Hand/Fist Test.

To determine if your fall arrest harness leg straps are adjusted properly, follow these basic steps:1. Make your hand flat.2. Insert your hand between your leg and the leg strap until the strap is across your wrist.3. Make your hand into a fist.4. Try to pull your fist in between the leg strap and your leg.

Did fist make it through? If so your leg straps need to be tightened until you cannot pull your fist out. If you weren’t able to complete step 2 above then your leg straps are actually too tight. As you may know, properly fitting the full body harness leg straps is just one small part of using fall arrest equipment.